The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-12-24

~>S none OI ms CO., workers ever knew. He would disap- pear all at once without warning; then as suddenly appear, after three or four months absence, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary in his peculiar behavior. He was a si- lent worker when he "held down" a case, and could "stick" faster and show cleaner proof than any man in any office wherein he worked. None of his acquaintances seemed to know from whence he came any more than they could guess how long he was likely to stay in any one place. Every printing office knew of him, and recognized his ability as first class compositor; but beyond the fact that he answered to the sobriquet of 1sRed Rube," and was an unreliable drunkard, nothing was known of his true name or the status of society from which he emanated. He was al- ways clothed in ragged garments that were many sizes too large for his lean body, and as no one ever saw him wear new suit it was surmised he had a chronic leaning toward hand-me- downs. Despite his red nose, which was as glossy as a street-stand apple, his face was comedy. His pompadour bristles environed forehead that be- tokened an intellect of no mean order, while his dropping mustache and dreamy eyes added to the general pie turesqueness of his appearance. His hands, when clean. were as shapely as a lady's, and hinted that he might have been cradled within the patri- clan circle of Quality corners. But everything was simply surmise. He was nobody" so he said himself, and in his maudlin colloquies with himself he would say, "I care for Nobody and Nobody cares for me. We're great chums, Nobody and me-"
 One Christmas morning he crawled from under the lea side of hay-stack, where he slowed himself in a drunken stupor on the night previous, and gazed around him with bleary, blink iLg eyes, trying to collect his scat tered senses, and trying to recollect how he came to 'put up" at such queer hotel.
 "I wonder where I am and how I got here!" he ejsculated, as he drew his rags closer to his shivering form. "I wonder if to-day is tomorrow or yesterday! feel rather peckish. If l haven't slept too long to-day should be Christmas. Merry Christmas, No- bodyl Let's shake hands. That's right, Nobody; you haven't gone back on your pard yet, have you? Now who's going to treat, you or me? And how much have we left to treat? Christmas too! We should treat each other royalty today"
 He dived his purple hands deep into the recess of his tatters and brought forth two cents and a printers union card.
 Rather a slim outlook for me, So- body; there isn't even enough for you" And he made another fruitless search. Nothing! We'll, Pll stand treat to frozen cocktail" he resumed, as he placed an icicle in his mouth.
 "Sizzled, did it, Nobody? Mine did, too. It isn't the sort of an eye-opener we like, eh? Whew! How the cold bites. We'll hunt a Christmas feather and try our luck. Perhaps something will turn up."
 Several geese feathers were frozen to the ice in the wagon ruts near the spot on which he stood, and he broke the fossy tip from the largest and held it between his thumb and fore finger.
 "A merry Christmas and good luck with it" he said to the feather:
 'Now, vagrant plume from downy breast,
 Like us thou'rt doomed to roam,
 straggler, poor, without . nest,
 So. R1sis S1ns sH sa nonaS seHs Dc ssou kind,
 And guide us on this day;
 For whithor art thou blown by wind,
 We'll thither make our way.
 Blow ye west or blow ye east,
 Blow to us Christmas feastT
 He leaned back and holding the tip above his lips blew it toward the sky. At first it hoated upward in a direct line above him, as though anxious to get as far as possible from the tainted breath of its newly formed acquaint- ance, then changed its course and fut- tered toward . church-spire from whose belfry the tinkling chimes of